The family of 47-year-old Loredana Necsi remembers her talent, compassion and drive to succeed.
"She made a mark in her life, and it was a good mark because she was a very loving person," said John Necsi, Loredana's father.
Loredana Necsi was known as the "legal diva" from her reality show on the Sundance channel called "Loredana, Esq."
The show is based on her own real-world experience as a criminal defense attorney, and portrays her as a glamorous but ruthless lawyer representing quirky clients, such as nudists and medical marijuana growers. The show also featured her boyfriend Robert Reagan and their 5-year-old son, Rocco.
Loredana Necsi was found dead in her home after the 51-year-old Reagan called police and told them there was some kind of altercation. Reagan was arrested and booked in connection to the homicide and is being held on a $1 million bond.
The family says the couple had been together for the past seven years.
"From time-to-time, they would argue when they came here, and I would not appreciate it," said John Necsi.
Loredana Nesci, a Connecticut native, joined the L.A. police force in 1996 after graduating from UConn. Her two brothers are Meriden police officers.
Two years later, she returned to the East Coast to attend law school at Quinnipiac University, and worked at two legal practices in her home state, where a local law publication first dubbed her “The Legal Diva.”
She opened her L.A. law practice in 2004, and Sundance began airing the reality show about her career and her personal life in 2013.
In May, she appeared in an episode of ABC's "The View."
"She made her mark in the entertainment world. She made her mark in the legal world representing the downtrodden," said Brian J. Woolf, managing partner of Woolf Law Firm LLC in East Hartford.
Loredana Necsi interned and later became a staff attorney at Woolf's firm after finishing law school at Quinnipiac in 2002. Woolf says the two were very close friends, even after she moved to California to pursue her law career.
"She wanted to have the mindset of a police officer and apply that to representing people in the justice system," Woolf said.
Woolf said ahe continued to represent clients in Connecticut, sometimes traveling to the state several times a month.
"I never had any question about referring people to Loredana because I knew she’d put her heart and soul into what she was doing," Woolf said.
Her family says Loredana planned to return to Connecticut for a visit next month. The Necsi brothers flew to California Thursday to handle their sister's arrangements and take care of her son.
The family is planning to have her 5-year-old son live with them in Meriden.
"We're going to be very devoted and I'm sure he's going to grow with a lot of love and care," said her father.
The dean of the Quinnipiac University School of Law released the follow statement following Loredana Necsi's death:
"Loredana was larger than life, with a thirst for justice and a passion for public service. Loredana understood the pivotal role lawyers play in the justice system and in the lives of the clients they assist. Our profession has lost a dynamic and caring practitioner," said Jennifer Gerada Brown, dean of School of Law.
